Latest Disney News: A Disney Plus purge leaves the House of Mouse on shaky ground with LGBTQ+ community as DeSantis burns yet another bridge

Buckle up, Disney lovers, this one is going to be a doozy. 

There’s no point in beating around the bush. The cold hard truth is that some of your favorite movies and TV shows are on the chopping block. The company’s latest cost-cutting measure will see dozens of projects scrapped from streaming and unfortunately, they won’t be just from Disney Plus. The move has infuriated (and saddened) not just viewers, but the creators of the shows, not to mention the LGBTQ+ community, who Disney has riled up as a result. 

In other news, we have Ron DeSantis evoking the all-mighty straw that broke the camel’s back as Disney withdraws from a $1 billion deal with the state that would have ushered in more than 2,000 jobs. 

And that’s not even including our first official look at Stitch in the live-action Lilo & Stitch. Brace yourselves… Let’s dive in.

Disney one-ups Netflix by wiping dozens of movie and TV shows from streaming, betraying the LGBTQ+ community in the process

We’ve known that Disney was in the process of cost-cutting strategies; last month, the company underwent its second round of layoffs, with 4,000 employees packing up their desks. However, we had no clue that such measures would include completely erasing 50 movies and TV shows from Disney Plus and Hulu. It’s an unprecedented move for Disney, that’s for sure. You can read the full list here. We’re talking about Willow, Stargirl, Y: The Last Man, Dollface, Big Shot, and perhaps most damningly, Howard.

Howard Ashman, for those who aren’t aware, was a gay playwright, lyricist whose work is often cited as the driving force behind the “Disney Renaissance” of the ‘80s and ‘90s. The company quite literally wouldn’t be where it is today without him, but instead of honoring its greatest queer figurehead, Disney has chosen to erase his documentary from the platform just a couple of weeks before Pride Month. The whiplash from bringing the first openly gay superheroes into the MCU to scrapping Howard has left many in the community wondering where the company’s allegiances truly lie. 

There goes $1 billion — Ron DeSantis’ feud with Disney sees Florida take an unfortunate financial hit

Budget cuts are the apparent theme here as Disney’s $1 billion investment in an employee campus in Florida has gone kaput. What should have been a lucrative financial investment that would have created more than 2,000 jobs for Florida residents petered out before it even gained steam with the company citing “changing business conditions” as the reason behind its decision. Although DeSantis wasn’t named as the reason, it’s hard not to point at the ongoing feud between the Florida governor and Disney as the underlying cause. Why build an employee campus in a state that is only making your life a living nightmare? 

Are you ready? Here’s your first official look at Stitch on the set of Lilo & Stitch

Now before you get upset and threaten to shoot the messenger, this isn’t the animated Stitch we’re talking about, just his stand-in reference. Normally this wouldn’t be newsworthy, but just wait until you see the video. The stand-in looks like Stitch, that’s for sure, but the human wearing the hand-sized puppet crawling onto the boat and latching onto the driver’s shoulder? Well, that’s all we need to rekindle those concerns about the quality of the film, let alone its necessity. 

You know what is necessary, though. This video of Ursula ordering a venti java chip Frappuccino at Starbucks. You’re welcome.